It’s a strange but undeniable fact that most people do not read websites about Belgian chess history, nor are they interested in blog posts complaining…
CIPC #46: Independence day
Last week we talked about Red Bull, this week we’re tackling its cinematic counterpart: Roland Emmerich’s 1996 movie Independence day – which revived the disaster…
CIPC #45: Red Bull advertisement
While we’re on the topic of advertisement for drinks featuring chess, let’s talk about Red Bull. It is a relatively new drink, launched in Austria…
CIPC #44: Smirnoff advertisement
Sometimes I have serious difficulty starting one of these posts. For example, what could I possibly tell about Smirnoff that not everybody knows already? The…
CIPC #43: Universum Bremen
Suppose for a moment that by some strange twist of fate you end up in Bremen for a day or two. Maybe the Deutsche Bahn…
CIPC #42: Aladdin
Received opinion has it that chess originated in India, slowly evolving as it spread westwards from the original chaturaṅga into the modern version that is…
CIPC #41: House of Cards, S1 E10
Netflix original is one of those phrases which a mere twenty years ago would have been nonsensical, but which is now as common as the…
CIPC #40: MST3K S4 E11, The magic sword
The faithful readers of this blog might remember how enthusiastic I was about Mystery science theater 3000. Aforesaid readers will, then, not be surprised to…
CIPC #39: Alfred J. Kwak S1 E12, Alfred’s chess adventure
Alfred J. Kwak is an invention of multitalented Dutchman Herman van Veen.1 It is a show about an orphaned duck who was brought up by…
CIPC #38: Mafalda
Which countries do you associate with comics? Perhaps you will immediately think of the American tradition, with superhero comics and Peanuts-style newspaper comics. Maybe the…